


& then i am going to rattle the stars

by Army0fBees



Category: Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: AU, Aelin Goes to College, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Modern AU, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2017-12-15
Packaged: 2019-01-21 06:21:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12451389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Army0fBees/pseuds/Army0fBees
Summary: Aelin Galathynius attends Cambrian University in Doranelle. There's just one problem: Rowan Whitethorn.





	1. terrasen remembers

**Author's Note:**

> I took some liberties: namely, the 'resurrection' of Evalin. I took the college name from the Cambrian Mountains close to Doranelle. Anyway, enjoy! Comments/critiques/support welcome. Let me know what you want to see in the next chapter! (Also, don't worry — the whole squad will be introduced soon!) :)

Aelin hated airplanes. She hated the people, crammed ruthlessly by the airline staff into the little metal cylinder, and their snores and coughs and murmurings. She hated the scratchy seat fabric and relished in the fact that she was able to pick at the thread of her seat cushion until she created a hole in the seams. She hated the dry, static air and the fact that she couldn’t use the restroom because the middle-aged man beside her was asleep, blocking the path to the aisle, but, most of all, Aelin hated leaving Terrasen.

The plane had ascended above the cloud cover, but every few minutes the mist cleared and she caught a hint of Terrasen’s green mountains. Her chest tightened at the thought of her mother. 

_“You’ll FaceTime me every Tuesday,”_ she had insisted, but the softness of her voice made it sound more like a supplication. Aelin had grinned. _“And as soon as I land._ And _as soon as I move in._ And _after my first day._ ” She had pulled her phone out of her jacket pocket and held it up for her mother’s inspection. “ _See?_ ” she had added, “ _You’re on my favorites list, that way I can call you whenever anything important happens.”_ Her mom had smiled, and held out her own phone. “ _Will you do the same with mine?”_ she had asked sheepishly, and Aelin had laughed and teased her shamelessly — but seeing the green heart and fire emojis next to her name had made her chest tighten and she had fallen silent. Sensing her sadness, Evalin had pulled Aelin into a tight hug, resting her chin on her daughter’s shoulder. _How strange_ , Aelin had thought, _that I used to be so much smaller than her._ But she was still her mom — she was still capital-M Mom, who had made Aelin an enormous “goodbye breakfast” that morning and subsequently yelled at Aelin for leaving her dishes on the table, the same Mom who had carefully folded each of Aelin’s shirts in her suitcase and packed extra toothbrushes in the pocket of her backpack “just in case.” The same Mom who Aelin was leaving. She felt a twinge of guilt in her temples. Evalin had plenty of friends to support her, and an important job to keep her busy, but ever since Aelin’s dad had died, they’d been there for each other when no one else was. Aelin was leaving her best friend. Almost as if reading her mind, her mother whispered into the crook of her neck, “ _Rhoe would be so proud.”_ Aelin had felt her eyes begin to burn, but she had squeezed them shut, breathing in the smell of her mother’s laundry detergent, and said, “ _Rhoe would also tell you that_ no one _needs twenty-three toothbrushes.”_ They had laughed, disentangling themselves, and sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Evalin had muttered, “ _Twenty-two.”_ Aelin had snorted. “ _What?”_ With a sheepish smile, her mother clarified, “ _Twenty-two toothbrushes, and besides, you’ll thank me later; Colgate charges more for a single strand of floss than you’ll make in a month with a college-level job.”_

Now, cheek pressed to the cold window pane, Aelin allowed herself a brief moment of sadness. First thing when she landed, she decided, she would call her mother.


	2. doranelle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aelin suffers mortal problems like airplane and a worried mom.

The airport mirror distorted Aelin’s figure, impairing her efforts to smooth the blonde mess of her hair. With a frustrated sigh, she let her hands drop to her sides, gathered her carry-on, and turned to leave the restroom, bumping into several people on her way out. _Airport restrooms_ , she grumbled to herself, _always a Godsdamned maze to get out of._  
She unlocked her phone. The grainy lockscreen photo of Fleetfoot was obscured by junk-mail notifications, a Snapchat from Aedion, and a text from her mom. 

**_Evalin 2:58PM_**

**Now I wish I had packed 23 toothbrushes. Are u sure 22 will be enough?**

The several (excessive) emojis accompanying it assured Aelin that Evalin was joking, but she could feel the undercurrent of worry beneath her mother’s tease. 

**_Aelin 4:15PM_**

**I’ll be fine.**

**_Aelin 4:17PM_**

**Besides, if Aedion doesn’t have an extra toothbrush in his dorm, I’ll steal some from the dentist like u always do. Someday I’m gonna tell Dr Sorchsa where all her supplies are going and then she’ll never let me back for another teeth cleaning haha**

**_Evalin 4:18PM_**

**Ha! Bet u would love that. (I already scheduled ur next appt for Yulemas break so that’s not gonna happen)**

**_Aelin 4:18PM_**

**Haha, love u mom.**

**Really tho I’ll be fine.**

**_Evalin 4:18PM_**

**Mkay but if Dr. S finds cavities from too much ramen and cereal …**

**_Aelin 4:18PM_**

**Me? Never!**

**_Evalin 4:19PM_**

**How r u feeling?**

**_Aelin 4:19PM_**

**Nervous. Excited. Homesick.**

**I can’t wait.**

**Gtg, @ baggage claim**

**_Evalin 4:19PM_**

**Kk, ttyl. Remember to make safe choices and to try 1st week w/out alcohol. Love u A. :)**

**_Aelin 4:19PM_**

**No promises, but remember I can handle myself. I’ll be safe. Love u Mom.**

Then, for her mother’s sake, she added,

**Stopping by Green Grocer omw 2 dorms 2 pick up healthy snacks. Don’t worry about me.**

Aelin gathered her bags, huffing a little with the sheer mass of them, and stepped out of the automatic doors. Fresh air blew in her face, tousling her hair and ruining what little progress she had made toward taming it. With a laugh, she closed her eyes and tilted her head up to the sky, letting the late afternoon sun warm her face. Doranelle, splashed with graceful stone skyscrapers, seemed to sprawl like a prowling cat over the city blocks, bustling and humming with the excitement of a Friday afternoon. Beside the buildings, the crowds in Doranelle’s streets seemed insignificant as fleas, merely slight bothers to the city.

Aelin opened Aedion’s Snapchat, revealing a blurred shot of her cousin’s face. 

**_Aedion (wolf.aed | 79,472 3:56 PM)_**

**Party tonight, details l8r. Need help moving in?**

Aelin returned a shot of a wicked grin.

**_Aelin (firebreathr |132,724 4:25PM)_**

**Yes and yes. Let’s get fucked up.**

With that, Aelin hailed a taxi, a grin still splitting her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha! A decent-sized chapter? You thought! (Please accept this short & rushed piece. I'll have more time over the holidays! Thanks for sticking with me.)


	3. ed sheeran

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Full disclosure, I know nothing about Ed Sheeran. Does he dye his hair? Is he from Mars? Would characters from SJM's fantasy world even know who he is? Who knows.

Standing awkwardly the doorway of dorm 306, Aelin cleared her throat. Two heads whipped around to face her. 

“Um, hi, I’m —”

“You’re Aelin!” Aelin hated being interrupted, and she bit back the urge to let slip a sharp retort. She had never been very good at making friends with other girls. Instead, she just nodded, forcing a small smile onto her lips.

“Yes, Aelin Galathynius.”

“I’m Lysandra.”

 _Fuck_. She couldn’t spot a single pore on the girl — Lysandra’s — skin. Her eyes, green and thoughtful beneath heavy lashes, seemed almost on the verge of nervousness despite the confident uptilt of her chin. Strands of mussed black hair had tumbled from her loose ponytail to settle around her face, framing her high cheekbones. The casual grace with which she moved was almost feline, and the calculated turn of her head seemed to declare that, despite her warm demeanor, she was withholding judgement on Aelin. Suddenly, Aelin overwhelmingly wanted to pass whatever test this girl provided — maybe it was the promise of laughter in the curl of Lysandra’s lips or the edge of danger beneath her carefully manicured nails, but before she could help herself Aelin blurted —

“Ed Sheeran!”

Lysandra, for a moment, looked confused, and Aelin immediately corrected,

“I mean, I saw on the roommate forms that you like Ed Sheeran. And I do too. I mean, he’s not my favorite. But he’s not my least favorite. Wait, that makes it sound — I don’t dislike him. In fact, I like him. He’s top ten. Maybe top eight if I’m having a bad day. I’m not one for sappy romance but he…”

Aelin trailed off, deciding it was better to spare her new roommates. The other girl, not Lysandra, spoke. 

“Ed Sheeran has the type of music you can drunkenly slow dance to alone in your room.”

Despite the lightheartedness of her words, her voice was low and grating, rumbling with warmth and sincerity and a hint of an accent — Eyllwe? She looked like honey — the oak of her skin melted seamlessly into her upturned lips and the soft planes of her face caught the early evening light and seemed to drink it in rather than refracting it. 

Aelin smiled, relieved. “You must be Nehemia?”

The girl laughed, her eyes crinkling. “Yes.”

Lysandra, perhaps a bit more coolly than was necessary, jerked her head to the bed near the window. “We left the window bed for you; neither of us like being woken up early by the sun.”

Aelin closed the door gently behind her and set the pile of her bags on her bed. “I don’t mind, as long as you don’t mind that my cousin comes over to help me move in.”

Lysandra and Nehemia shrugged and turned back to their own bags. For a while, the girls unpacked in a friendly silence, and then Nehemia began to play Ed Sheeran from her laptop.

“Who couldn’t use a little romance when folding clothes?” Lysandra laughed.

Aelin smiled under her breath, pinning a picture of her mother and dog onto the window frame. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Nehemia twirling and dancing as she shoved clothes haphazardly into her small set of drawers. 

In that moment, watching Nehemia’s feet spin on the drab navy carpet, Aelin decided that she liked her roommate. Lysandra, though — time would have to tell.

A knock sounded on the door, and Nehemia rushed to answer it, face flushed from her solo. It was Aedion, looking rash and casual and for all the world as if he belonged there, leaning against the doorframe.

Aelin rushed to hug him, and through the cotton of his t-shirt, she could almost smell the earthy pine of Terrasen. He ruffled her hair, a gesture that, though she insisted it was patronizing because he was only a _year_ older than her, she found comforting. She extricated herself from his arms and ushered him inside, closing the door behind him. 

“Nehemia, Lysandra,” she said over the music, noting the sudden cross of Lysandra’s arms, “this is my cousin, Aedion.”

Aedion, to his credit, managed to only _briefly_ rake his eyes over her roommates. He mirrored Lysandra’s skeptical arm-cross, a smirk playing on his face. “So, Ed Sheeran, huh?”

Aelin, Lysandra, and Nehemia burst out laughing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment :) (It doesn't even have to be constructive)


End file.
